In Re Townsend

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JERRY W. VENTERS, Bankruptcy Judge.

The sole issue now before the Court in this Chapter 7 case is whether the Debtor, a woman who lives with her same-sex partner and her partner’s two children, may claim the “head of household” exemption provided in Mo.Rev.Stat. § 513.440. The statute provides that a person must be the head of a “family” to claim the exemption, and Norman E. Rouse, the Trustee (“Trustee”), has objected to the exemption, arguing that the Debtor’s partner and her partner’s children are not the Debtor’s family. In response, the Debtor maintains that they are,…